Melody of Doom
by x Lessa x
Summary: Set after the events of The Metal Age and contains many original characters. Kira, Garrett's only daughter, stumbles upon something that proves to be one of the biggest challanges the Master Thief has ever faced
1. Chapter 1

_Silence…_

There was nothing to be heard. She felt herself in a big blanket of silence. Not even the tiniest sound made its way down the corridor she was crouching in. A torch flickered in the distance. If no one made his of her way down this corridor it would be no problem for her to sneak past that torch. After a few more moments she made up her mind. There was no one coming down this corridor anymore. She threw a quick glance of her shoulder to make sure that the body that was lying there could not be seen. The shadows enveloped her victim's body completely. Even if by change someone besides her would pass through this corridor, that person wouldn't notice him.

She smirked in a satisfied little way and sat off. Her boots made no sound on the wooden floorboards. She stuck the walls and the shadows even though the shadow grew less and less in mass as she drew nearer to the torch. She was painfully aware of the fact that she was no longer able to hide herself and was now fully visible. Her black cloak no longer added to her invisibility. If anything it made sure that she stood out completely. She quickened her pace a bit and pretty soon she'd walked by the torch and she re-entered the shadows that made her feel safe and secure.

She looked up and down the corridor. Still no one. This little job was going quite smoothly until now. Most of people she had run into had been servants and she had managed to sneak around them very efficiently. She had only knocked out three guards up till know. They had all been patrolling this very narrow corridor and she simply couldn't avoid being spotted at this point. Not when she was so close to finishing this job.

She crouched further into the shadows and pushed herself against the wall. From her pocket she drew forward the map she had been given by one of her contacts in the City. The map was very crude and barely held any detail at all but it was sufficient. She only had to know the general layout of this mansion; there was no need for her to know everything. She folded the map open and held it out in the direction of the torch so that she would be able to read it. With her finger she trailed the corridor she was currently in on the map. One more corner and then the second door on the right. That would lead her into the study of the master of this house. There she would find what she had come to steal.

She folded the map and put it back into her pocket. She rose very carefully as to make sure that her newly acquired valuable wouldn't make any noise. Once she had erected fully she set off away in the direction of the study. Again her footsteps made no sounds as she moved forward slowly. Every one of her senses was directed to the environment around her. Her eyes were scanning for movement in the distant while her ears were waiting for any kind of sounds. Her nerves were high strung though one would not have been able to tell that she was nervous. She moved along the wall and through the shadows with a fluid grace born from years and years of practise.

She quickly crossed the distance to the study. She encountered no one and there were no obstacles. Clearly the owner of the mansion didn't expect someone to break into his study. But then, she wasn't really after anything valuable. She was after a scrap of paper, something he probably wouldn't even consider as something important. It was by pure change that one of her contacts had noticed it on his visit in the study. He'd passed the information on to her, thinking that she might find it interesting. And he'd been right.

She studied to door from the shadows she was hiding it. It was locked but it didn't seem like a very good one. She would be able to pick it within a matter of seconds. Still she left nothing to change and she remained crouched in the shadows for a good few minutes, straining all of her senses to the maximum. She heard nothing nor did she notice anything unusual. Very slowly she sneaked to the wooden door and pressed her ear against it. Again she strained her senses but she could pick up no sounds from the inside either.

She drew forth one of her lockpicks and stuck it into the keyhole. Very carefully she twisted her lockpick around, looking for the lock's weak spot. Suddenly the lock snapped open with a click. She drew her lockpick out of the keyhole and stuck it back behind her belt. She left the door closed and shrank back into the shadows, listing for sounds. None reached her ears. Quick like a flash she went back to the door, opened it and disappeared into the study. She closed the door behind her and turned around to look around in the study, leaning back against the door.

The study was indeed empty. A large wooden desk stood to her left and it was littered with papers, quills and books. She grunted softly. How would she ever be able to find the paper she was looking for? Her eyes darted to the other side of the room where there stood a large bookcase and a wooden cabinet, which was probably filled with more books. She frowned slightly and turned her attention back to the desk. According to her contact it had been on the desk when he was last here so that was the place she'd start looking. He stayed that it resembled a page torn from an old book. He wasn't able to read the markings on it but it was supposed to bear an image that would interest her.

She made her way over to the desk and sat down in the chair behind it. She eyed the papers on the desk apprehensively. There was nothing for it; she'd have to search through the papers quickly and in an orderly fashion. She should be able to recognize it when she came across it. And so she started to search through the papers spread across the surface of the desk. Though the moon wasn't full the moonlight that flooded the room through the window was enough for her to read by. Paper up on paper she discarded. None of them interested her in the slightest. Most of these papers seemed to be notes of the lord of the mansion. She knew that he was supposed to be a very educated man and kept to his studies loyally. Every time she came upon a page that appeared to have been torn out of something her heart skipped a beat but she was quickly disappointed. Until, when she nearly looked upon every paper on the desk, she found want she was looking for.

She couldn't recognize the writings on it but the image on the paper made her eyes widen with shock. Yes, this was very interesting indeed. She'd have to thank her contact for tipping her off. This could prove to be very interesting indeed. She folded the paper very carefully and slid it into her bag with the rest of her new possessions. After a final glance through the study she left it quietly and left the mansion the same way she had entered it.


	2. Chapter 2

_It was only_ a few hours before sunrise when Kira stepped into the apartment building. Everything had gone very smooth. If only every job was this easy. Then again, she corrected herself; this hadn't really been a job. She hadn't gone after anything that was worth money. The fact that she had relieved the lord of the mansion from a few valuable was just…. a stroke of good luck. On her side anyway. No, the household probably had no reason to suspect that there had been anything worth stealing in that study. So security had been easy. The whole thing might prove an interesting subject for a discussion.

She shook her head to clear her mind of thought and climbed the stairs to the small apartment where she lived with her father. She searched around her pockets to find the key and when she had found it she opened the door. She stepped inside and locked the door behind her. It felt good to back home. She hung her key on a little hook besides the door and very quietly she left the hallway and entered her own room, closing the door behind her quietly. She didn't know whether her father was awake or a sleep but either way it wasn't a very good idea to alert him of her presence. Though it was not uncommon for her to go out on her own she knew that he didn't appreciate it very much.

Once the door was closed she turned around and walked toward her closet. Her room wasn't very big. There was just enough room to fit in a bed, a single closet and a sink but it served its purpose. The only thing she did he was sleep or change anyway. When she reached the closet she pulled it open and started to get rid of her equipment. She took of her bow and quiver as well as the black bag, which held her new possessions. She set both her bow and quiver in the closet but kicked her bag underneath her bed, stopping long enough to fish out the important piece of paper she had collected.

The black cloak came off revealing a sturdy black, leather armour underneath. She undid the buckles and after a little fiddling the armour came off as well. Underneath she wore a simple black tunic and black, woollen stockings. She undid the buckle of her belt and checked it to see if everything was still there. The three lockpicks, her curved evil looking dagger and a small pouch were all still present. The cloak, armour and belt also disappeared into the closet and then she shut the closet.

After that she sat down on her bed and took off her boots. She removed a small dagger from each boot and put the daggers and the boots underneath her bed. She yawned deeply and took off the rest of her clothing, switching it for a simple, white nightgown. Her clothing disappeared under her bed as well and she slid underneath the covers on her bed. She pushed the piece of paper underneath her pillow and then lay down, resting her head on that same pillow. She yawned again and closed her eyes, drifting of to sleep almost instantly.

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It couldn't have been more then a few hours later when she was woken by a rapt knock on her door. She grunted loudly and pulled the covers over her head, unwilling to acknowledge the knock and very eager to go back to sleep. Another knock on the door disturbed her current line of thought. How would she be able to go back to sleep if the knocking continued? She needed complete and absolute silence to fall asleep. Another knock on the door was followed by a voice. "Kira, I know you're in there".

She grunted again and she gripped her covers very tightly as if she was afraid that someone would pull them off her. Not now, she found herself thinking. Please give me a few more hours of sleep. Of course that request could not be granted. There was another knock on the door. "Kira, I know…-". "..You can hear me, yes father," she shouted, finishing the sentence for him. "I can hear you just fine. Now leave me alone". Even this didn't work. A creaking noise told her that he had opened the door instead of leaving her alone. Underneath the blankets Kira fought to open her eyes. Her eyelids had grown heavy due to lack of sleep and she could only manage to open her eyes as small slits.

She crawled out from underneath her covers and sat up in bed to face her father. He was standing in the door opening with an air of calm fury surrounding him. She knew that these situations frustrated him more then a little. He couldn't tell her off for sneaking off because he did the same thing and most of his arguments didn't reach beyond 'but I am your father' which she would efficiently counter with 'but I am twenty years old'.

"I want to have a word with you" he told her once she was sitting up. "Yes father, I know you do. But could this possibly wait till later? I would really like to get some more sleep" she replied. He smirked smugly and turned around on his heel, leaving her door opening. "I'll give you one minute to get out of bed Kira" he called. Kira scowled at the now empty door opening and swung her legs over the side of the bed. "Bleedin' burrick" she swore and reached underneath her bed for her clothing.

Dawn had already broken and sunlight was flooding over the wooden floor through the small window in her room. She guessed that she had had about four hours of sleep before her father decided that it was time for her to wake up. She pulled the piece of paper our from under her pillow and stuck it in her back pocket. She yawned deeply and left her bedroom behind her, with more then a few feelings of regret.

The living room of the apartment was small and crude. Kira wasn't even sure if the term living room was appropriate. Two chairs and a small table stood along the wall. Other then that there was a single bookcase, a cupboard and a small fireplace. Then again, it wasn't like she and her father spent a lot of time at home. The kitchen bordered the living room but it was even smaller. A few cupboards, a sink and a gas plate was what made up the kitchen.

Her father was sitting in one of the chairs and was clearly expecting her to do the same. For a moment she considered going into the kitchen and get herself some breakfast before sitting down but she gave in with a silent sigh. He was probably mad enough already. It hadn't been that long ago that they'd hated each other and in all honesty, she rather liked this new arrangement they had. It was better not to risk anything over something silly.

She walked over to the table and flopped down in the only free chair there. She sighed again. "Alright father. Let's get this over with. But I can assure you that I had a perfectly good reason to go out last night" she said. Like that she cut off any threads or accusations he might have thrown at her otherwise. "Convince me" he said simply. The magical words that Kira had been waiting for.

"The day before yesterday I received word from Bruce that he wanted to meet with me. He said he had some interesting news to share with me. You remember Bruce right?" she asked. Her father nodded. "The son of Bloody Barry". Kira nodded. "Yes. He told me to meet him in The Crippled Burrick at sundown yesterday evening so I did that" she continued. "Which is why you sneaked out" he said dryly. "I fail to see the use of it". "Give me the time to finish" she snapped and glared at him. "_Anyway_, it turned out that Bruce has some very interesting information for me. Lord Malford had ordered a dagger from his father a few weeks ago and upon completion of that dagger Barry had asked Bruce to deliver it to him. At the time of delivery Lord Malford was in his study so Bruce was escorted there to deliver the dagger. He told me that he noticed something very interesting lying on the desk in that study. He said that Malford probably didn't consider it of any value because it was just lying there. And he wouldn't tell me what it was exactly so…" her voice trailed off. "So you had to find out what it was" he finished for her. She nodded slowly. "And why wouldn't Bruce tell you what it was he saw" he asked. Kira shrugged. "He's odd like that sometimes" she explained. Her father shook his head. "At least tell me that what he was right. There was something interesting in that study I hope" he said.

Kira grinned broadly and pulled the piece of paper out of her pocket and handed it to him. "See for yourself" she said. He narrowed his eyes slightly and took it from her. He folded it open and his eyes trailed over the strange markings, a look on incomprehension on his face. Until his eyes found the image on the paper. She smirked as she saw the surprise she had felt upon seeing the image spread across his face. "Interesting" he said after a few moments. "I've never been able to find anything about it, though it did look for a while after that little mission". Kira shuddered. She avoided thinking about that as best as she could. "Though I can't make out what it says" he continued. "Me neither" she admitted. "But it looks like it's a page that he ripped from a book. It might be a good idea to find out what book it came from". He seemed to be considering that. "Perhaps" he gave in grudgingly.

Kira held out her hand for her page and he handed it back to her. She folded it again and put it back in her pocket. "All right Kira" he said. "I'll admit that it's interesting enough. Did you pick up anything besides that page?". She nodded. "Of course I did father" she said, feeling a little hurt. "Don't give me that" he said impatiently. "Go fence it". She nodded submissively. "Father?" she asked. "Hm?" came the reply. "What about that page?" she asked. He sighed deeply. "We'll see Kira. For now let's just accept that it's interesting. Even if it means anything there is most likely no profit there. We already stole it once. What's the use of doing it again?"


End file.
